3-4-4-3 Custody and Visitation Schedule Examples

The 3-4-4-3 schedule is a 50/50 residential schedule that has your child stay with one parent for 3 days of the week and then 4 days with the other parent. The next week it switches so the first parent has the child for 4 days and the other parent 3.

Here is how the 3-4-4-3 schedule looks in the calendar.

Depending on what day you choose as your start day, you may end up with a 4-3-3-4 schedule, a 4-3-4-3 schedule, a 3-4-3-4 schedule, a 4-4-3-3 schedule or a 3-3-4-4 schedule. These are all variations on the same two week repeating schedule.

The 3-4-4-3 schedule is fairly straightforward, but you can make some changes to it so it works for you. Here are some different examples of the 3-4-4-3 schedule.

Here is a schedule where the exchanges are on Wednesday and Sunday and Wednesday and Saturday. Each exchange time is different to allow both parents weekend time with the child. If Wednesday is the start day of this schedule you have a 4-3-3-4 schedule. If Sunday is the start day you have a 4-4-3-3 schedule.

Here is another schedule that splits the weekend time between the parents. The exchanges are on Tuesday and Saturday and Tuesday and Friday.

You may want to mark 3rd party time when the child isn't with either parent. Here is a schedule that shows when the child is at school. Because the school time changes the parenting timeshare, Mom has been give more time on the second Saturday to make the parenting time 50/50.

Using a parenting timeshare calculator while you make your schedule allows you to see the exact percentage of time that each parent has with the child. This lets you make sure that each parent still has 50% of the time with the child as you customize your schedule.

Pros and Cons of the 3-4-4-3 schedule

Pros:

The schedule is very structured and the parents have the same nights each week except for one.

Children are able to spend longer time with both parents each week.

There are minimal exchanges.

Each parent has equal time with the child.

This is a shared parenting schedule and each parent has the opportunity help with the daily caretaking of the child.

The child doesn't go very long without seeing either parent.

The schedule can work very well for parents who have different work schedules.

Cons:

One parent may have the child every weekend.

Because there is a midweek exchange, the parents must have good communication about the child's schoolwork or other weekly activities.

The parents must be able to communicate about the child and the schedule.

The child must be able to adapt to living in two different houses during the week.

The parents must live fairly close together and close to the child's school.